Wrapping: No plastic, no problem

After the pitter-patter of little feet and the eager anticipation as holiday gifts are opened comes . . . wrap rage.

That’s the term for the frustration of trying to open items deeply encased in plastic packaging. Such “clamshell packaging’’ was created to make products look more desirable in stores and difficult for would-be shoplifters to open. But in addition to causing parental aggravation, the tendency to put every part of a toy or electronic gizmo in its own impenetrable shell bound with a rat’s nest of twist-ties also creates an enormous amount of waste.